


you and i collide

by mumblingmaria



Category: Morning Glories
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-13
Updated: 2014-08-13
Packaged: 2018-02-12 23:40:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2128809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mumblingmaria/pseuds/mumblingmaria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>the five times casey surprised hunter and the one time he surprised her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	you and i collide

**Author's Note:**

  * For [brella](https://archiveofourown.org/users/brella/gifts).



> HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN GWEN. wow sorry i'm such a butt an took a million years to finish this. i just wanted to make sure it was good because you deserve the best. it doesn't fit the prompts i forced you to give me but c'est la vie. i hope you like it. <3 happy birthday again, my dear. i love you lots.

_"I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;  
I lift my lids and all is born again.  
(I think I made you up inside my head.)_

_The stars go waltzing out in blue and red,  
And arbitrary blackness gallops in:  
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead._

_I dreamed that you bewitched me into bed  
And sung me moon-struck, kissed me quite insane.  
(I think I made you up inside my head.)"_

_\- sylvia plath_

**1.**

Being stuck in the woods at night sucked. It sucked majorly. Hunter could easily say he would not recommend this to anyone (except maybe Ike). The only reason he wasn't losing his mind was because Casey was next to him, keeping him calm. Well, calmish. As calm as two teens stuck in what was probably a murderous forest (he hadn't seen the trees kill anyone… yet). Actually, the actual definition of calm didn't really describe him at all, he was just not panicking or dying. That just happened to be this school's definition of calm.

They were sitting against a tree, not too close but close enough that if need Casey could save him quickly. It was definitely what one could call a comfortable distance. The boy sighed and looked up at the branches above them. It was cloudy, so no moon light was making it down to them. It was good he wasn't afraid of the dark. Not so good that he was still afraid of the situation.

The girl next to him shifted and he glanced over at her. Her eyes were shut, though it was clear she was still awake. All the same, Hunter felt like this was the most peaceful he'd ever seen her. Her shoulders for once didn't hold the normal amount of tension and her breathing seemed surprisingly relaxed. Of course Casey would be calm in this situation. 

"Hey, Hunter," her voice made him refocus. He blinked he looked at her. "Do you want to take turns keeping guard? We're going to need sleep but I think we'd both feel better if someone was watching out."

The ginger nodded. Made sense, and he had to say he was getting tired. He glanced around and smiled. "You sleep first. I'll wake you up in an hour or two."

"How? Your watch is broken…" the girl said, raising an eyebrow at him. 

“I’ll figure it out. Go to sleep,” he gestured for her to lie down. He sat up straighter against the tree and looked ahead. “No forest demons will get us, I promise.”

“Ok, weirdo,” Casey said, shaking her head. She readjusted against the tree and closed her eyes again. 

Hunter glanced down at her before he began to pick at the grass between them. He listened to her breathing as he looked out into the dark forest. Even with the girl next to him slipping into sleep, he still felt safe with her. No matter what, her presence gave him comfort.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he heard Casey move again. He didn’t look at her until he felt something slip into his hand. Her eyes were opened, but not looking at him. Her hand was resting inside his grip and he felt his lungs stop working.

Neither teen said anything. The blonde closed her eyes again and the ginger went back to watching the space around them. Eventually they switched, though they kept contact throughout the night. 

(When they left the forest the next day, Casey finally let go of his hand. Neither of them ever brought it up. They both pretended it had just never taken place. But Hunter felt the tingling in his hand for the next few days, clenching and unclenching his fist, trying to figure out what it meant.)

**2.**

It's basically a maze down here and you're sure you're going to die. You aren't surprised at all by this turn of events, to be frank. You just sort of thought that maybe you wouldn't have been in these events alone. Like, maybe Jade or Ike or Andres and someone would be down here with you. And more importantly, when did Morning Glory Academy even get a maze underneath the school (though it could just be you never paid attention to where you were going because you were just too busy following everyone else)? 

You wander around the halls and you begin to wonder if the school had invested in a minotaur. Another that wouldn't surprised. Yeah, you're pretty sure you're going to die down here at the hands of a minotaur because how else would it go down? This is what you get for getting separated from the group. Death by minotaur. Crazier shit has happened here, right? (At least it'll be a cool death though.)

What time is it? You don't even know how long you've been fumbling around in the dark at this point. You groan as you bump into another wall… You really should have grabbed a flashlight or something. At least then you could fumble around with purpose instead of blindly. You swear when your foot collides with a rock, because of course this maze isn't well kept. Why would it be?

You stop to catch your breath and wonder with you're ever going to get out of here. Are you going to see sunlight again? Are you going to eat again? Are you going to see any of your friends again, even Ike? Are you going to ever see Casey again? You regret every opportunity you fucked up and every time you said the wrong thing. Said nothing at all. When you ran away. When you didn't move at all. Yeah, you had a lot of regrets. 

"Hunter!"

You stop moving. You turn around to see where the fairly familiar voice was coming from. When you don't see anything you start back up on your slow trek towards your imminent death. It figures you would go crazy before dying and start hearing voices (though it does seem that insanity has dropped in faster than you thought it would).

"HUNTER!"

You stop again and turn just into for a body to collide with yours. All you can see and taste is golden hair. You try to say something, but more hair ends up in your mouth. You spit it out quickly and pull away to see who what there. What blonde would possibly come after you?

"Casey?" you whisper, holding the blonde back at arms length. She looks a little flushed and her breathing is the smallest amount laboured (was she running?) but her eyes are bright and there's a smile on her face. "You came back for me?"

"Of course."

_Of course._

The words don't make sense to you but you don't question her. Even though every single one of your molecules are begging for the actually reason she came back-- she needed a guinea pig, she needed a sacrifice, she needed a diversion, she needed someone expendable, you don't say anything. You let her take hold of your hand, though letting her do anything has never been a problem for you.

She leads you to the exit and you stop. 

"Hunter? What's wrong?" she asks. She's still holding your hand, which is bound to be way too sweaty now, and you grimace. "Hunter…"

"Just… I wasn't expecting anyone to find me," you say, rubbing the back of your neck with your other hand. _Let alone you._

"It wasn't like it was hard. It's never been that hard to find you," she gives your hand a squeeze before leading the way again.

**3.**

"I'm sorry… What?" the boy said. He stared at the girl next to him in the library, trying to make sure the words he heard were in fact correct. They had been studying when she said what he had to have misheard. He knew that he had probably just imagined them again (for what had the be the hundredth time). He really wouldn't be surprised if this was just another dream… Maybe Andres and Ian had found a way to prank in those walking dreams… Hannah probably came up with the plan. Yeah, that was definitely what was going on because what he thought he heard couldn't be possible. He wanted it too much and you just don't get what you want here.

Casey sighed and rubbed her brows before looking at the ginger again. "I said we should give the 'dating' thing a shot…"

"Is… Is this a dream? A dream prank?" Hunter said, trying to wrap his head around her words. The girl raised an eyebrow and the boy immediately regretted his attempt of an explanation. "No, it's just… I thought you didn't like me. That way."

"I… I never said that, Hunter. I just didn't think now was a good time. Honestly I still don't, but…" she looked away, biting her lip. The library was mostly deserted around them, though she still seemed nervous that someone could be listening (Hunter knew they were sitting in the library's blind spot. Casey refused to sit anywhere else). "I just don't want to die here with regrets. And since that's impossible at this point, I want as few regrets as possible. I don't want you… _Us_ to be another regret."

"Carpe diem," Hunter said, grinning slightly.

Casey groaned before smiling back at him, "Right, 'carpe diem'." The girl stood up and started to pick up all her books. Hunter's eyes widened a sec on before he looked down. He shouldn't be panicked, the girl just said she'd date him, but the sudden move to leave worried him. "It's okay, Hunter. I'm just heading to class now."

"Oh." 

"We can… We can do something tonight. I'll meet you outside your room tonight, okay?" She started backing up, biting her lip to keep from smiling.

The ginger nodded quickly, his smile coming back onto his face. He watched the blonde make her way to the library's exit, watched her tuck her hair behind her ear and throwing him one last glance, not caring about the dumb look that was most likely on his face. Hunter stayed at the study table for what was probably too long. His thoughts were lost to what was going to happen that night and he was pretty sure he was going to explode from excitement. Which was probably possible at this school.

**4.**

"Go away, Hunter," she called through the door. The ginger outside frowned and knocked on it again. He had been standing there for longer than he cared to admit and knocking a slightly shorter amount of time in comparison. "Go away, I mean it!"

He knocked again. She didn't grace him with a response this time. Moments pass and the silence only grew more. Sighing, the boy turned and leaned against the door. His knuckles hit the door a final time before he slide down to the ground. Resting his head against the door, he looked up and down the lit hallway. It was well past midnight. Jade was hiding out in his room, having been sent out by Casey. Pamela was… somewhere which was thankfully not here (it would have been much harder for Hunter to get the courage to try and talk to the girl inside). He was given the perfect opportunity to help, and he wanted to help. He really, really did. Why wouldn't he want to help his 'not-girlfriend-not-allowed-to-label-this-please-calm-down' person?

He closed his eyes. The hall was too bright and he honestly wasn't in the mood to see anyone or any guards on their way to kill him. He wanted to shut out was around him out here and focus on the other side of the door.

Their 'will they' part of their dance had been pretty wonderful, if you asked Hunter (no one did though because it was still a secret). They had their secret hand holding and their secret kissing and their secret glances and their secret everything. It was a pretty great secret and he was ready to take it to the grave, because he was sure that's where he was headed here. Might as well get a few moments where that thought isn't number one or two. 

He wasn't nodding off to sleep, don't think that for a moment, but as time passed he began to lose focus on his surroundings. Most importantly, he wanted to just focus on Casey for a second in peace. He wasn't falling asleep. But he didn't hear the sound of someone moving inside the room. Or the footsteps towards the door. Or even the sound of the doorknob turning. It was only when he was flat on his back, staring up at an unimpressed face did he realize what had happened.

"Hi."

"Just get inside the room before we get caught," she ordered, rubbing her forehead. The boy scrambled to his feet and passed the blonde. He waited in the middle of the room for her to follow. Except she walked by him to her bed, sitting on it in a way that made it very clear he was not welcomed to join. "So." She didn't ask, she demanded the explanation from him. And though it was typical behaviour, something about her demeanour this time threw him.

"I… I didn't think you were going to let me in," mumbled the ginger. He suddenly forgot his entire pre-planned speech. He forgot why he wanted to get in so desperately this time. He forgot why it had to be him. "Casey, I-"

"Look, I get that finding out I had this whole other life is world shattering. Trust me, my world is shattered. But I would like to be world shattered alone right now, okay?" Casey sighed. She looked into his eyes, grabbing hold of him. "Okay?"

"Then why did you let me in?"

Neither spoke after this. Hunter's hand slipped up to his neck, this time he was aware. This time it was entirely just about being able to do something. He always could manage this. Neither broke the stare between them. It was almost like they were locked in position, waiting for the next gear to shift so they could move this rickety machine forward just one more step. Just one more step until the momentum they needed.

What happened next was not the gear shift Hunter was thinking they needed. It wasn't the conversation about worlds being shattered. It wasn't even a conversation about what the next day could be. It wasn't being pulled onto the bed and holding hands. It wasn't turning around and leaving. Lips crashed against his and he fumbled to get his hands in the right places (Casey was still trying to teach him how kissing worked). It was a completely different gear than what he could have hoped for. It was the gear change he longed for.

The next morning, when he slipped back into his room, he felt the momentum. It was still rickety. It was still unplanned. It was still silences every now and then. But it was momentum.

 **5.**

He wasn't sure about what had possessed him about going down to the cylinder, but he found himself standing in front of it. Alone. Confused. Kind of sweaty. He wasn't sure why he was there. He just knew he was. This was the sort of thing Hunter felt about a lot of the things he did here at the school, all varying in levels of stupidity.

He remembered talking to Hodge earlier that day. He remembered her saying that sacrifices have to be made and he remembered her looking at Casey with sad eyes. Hunter didn’t care what she had meant then and he didn't care now. He just cared about the fact that Casey might be sacrificed. He cared about the fact that she might sacrifice herself. He cared about the fact that she might be gone. He wasn't going to allow that.

The door behind him opened and he could hear someone make their way towards him. He, for some probably terrifying reasons, couldn't look away from the cylinder. It was only when the person stopped next to him, could he look at them. Hodge was dressed simply for once, and her eyes seemed sad again. Needless to say, the boy was beginning to feel rather uncomfortable.

“So you figured it out?” she asked.

“Figured what out?” he looked back at the cylinder. It was weird, given how long they had been here, that they had no idea what it was. Was it a reset button? Was it a big red panic button? Was it just for show and something else was causing all the weird shit they saw here?

The woman laughed but doesn’t answer him. They stood in silence and the boy began to wonder where Casey was. Hopefully safe in her bed upstairs, dreaming of a better world and unaware of what was taking place down here (whatever that was). Why his thoughts brought him to her, he couldn't say. Maybe it was because of Hodge being there. Maybe it was because he had an extremely bad filling and he just wanted to see her again.

His hopes were shattered almost as if on cue when the door opened again. The rooms occupants turned, causing Hunter to frown almost immediately. Casey walked in and seems unfazed by the setting. She didn't make eye contact with the boy as she drew closer.

"And this will work?" the girl asked once she reached a few feet away from the pair. "This will save everyone? It'll fix everything?"

"It's your best shot," Hodge replied. Hunter looked between the two, feeling confusion wash over his body. Why did he feel like he was definitely in the wrong place at the right time? "But are you actually going to go through with this? Isn't he…"

"Please, just get it over with," Casey said quickly, rubbing her arm. She glanced at the ginger quickly before looking back at the woman. For a moment Hunter thought he had heard a whispered apology but it couldn't have been anything. It was too loud in here at hear a whisper at all.

Hunter went to move his hand to his neck. He was going to ask Casey why she was here, why he was here, and what the hell was happening. He was going to suggest that maybe they should just leave and survive to the next day. He was going to breathe more. But a sharp pain in his chest cut all of that off. He looked down and saw an ornate knife sticking out of his chest.

He collapsed rather quickly and tried to turn his head to look at the woman who had stabbed him. But it took to much effort, he needed all his strength to keep from dying. He couldn't die yet. He had so much left he wanted to try. So much he wanted to say. So much to do. He couldn't leave. He was just starting to find the life he wanted to live. With who he wanted to live it with.

Hunter's eyes landed on Casey and that's when the tears starting rolling down his cheeks. She wasn't moving to try and save him. She wasn't even looking at him. His breath was coming out in wheezes and the girl he maybe could love was leaving him there to die. Almost as if she wanted…

Oh.

He eyes closed and his final thought was that Casey would never stop surprising him.

 

 

 

**+.**

The blonde girl, well woman now really, fumbled around her living room in the dark. It was too late to be up but here she was, trying to figure out where she had left that damn phone. She hadn't even been home from work that long and she already managed to misplace it. This is what happens to those who survive murder school and save the world, they lose their phones.

Casey sighed and flopped down onto her couch. She knew she shouldn't be so defeated about a misplaced phone, but after the long day at work she didn't really care. Paid internships at a law firm were definitely a great job with a lot of potential, exactly what a girl like Casey needed, but wearing heels and having to do more paper work than was probably legal was a bit… frustrating. It wasn't exactly the job she wanted, but it was nice not to worry too much about money. 

She opened her eyes (she didn't even realize they had closed) when her phone went off. A groan escaping her lips, the girl moved to locate the device. It definitely took her too long to find it and she wasn't sure it was worth the text that awaited her. But when she saw it was from Jade, she sighed. What new exciting thing had Ike convinced her friend to do this week? Or was this the text saying that Ike was an asshole? Or was it the monthly plea to finally meet up again?

_From: Jade Ellsworth_

_DON'T FREAK OUT PLEASE._

Words that didn't even phase the girl now. It normally meant Jade made out with Ike again. Or Jade was off travelling and forgot to say so earlier. Casey knew her friend well, even if it's been a couple years since they had seen each other. So, it was easy to not freak out from those words.

The knock on the door was a different story. The blonde stared at it, clutching her phone. _Don't freak out, don't freak out, don't freak out…_ The timing of these two events did make that a little harder to achieve. Maybe she could ignore the person at the door. It was probably just her neighbour or something, asking for the cup of sugar. Who else could it be?

The knock happened again and Casey shook her head. This was ridiculous. It was just a person at the door. She's faced way worse. Grow up already, Blevins. She made her way to the door. Phone still in hand (in case she needed some sort of weapon), she took a deep breath in and opened the door.

She closed it almost immediately.

"Casey?" A voice that shouldn't exist anymore called from the other side of the door. The girl's hands shook as the held the door closed. "Casey, please. Just open that door."

"No. You're supposed to be dead. I watched you die. I _let_ you die. You aren't here, I've gone insane," the girl answered. She felt her whole body begin to shake and she wanted to wake up from this dream. Because it had to be a dream. There was no other explanation for why he could be here. "Go away."

"I'm not going anywhere, not again. Please, just open the door," the ghost's voice came in. It was more determined then it had been way back then. Another sign he couldn't be there. He just couldn't.

Slowly, the girl opened the door, only to prove that he wasn't actually there. To prove that her nightmares about him weren't lies. To prove that her mistake was something she'd never have to face again… And yet here he was in front of her. Hunter was standing there, hand on neck and avoiding eye contact. He was taller now (though barely an inch taller than her) and he looked older. And somewhat faded. But he was there.

"You can't be here. You died," Casey whispered. "Please, just…"

The boy looked up at her and smiled. "Sorry, not dead anymore," he tried sound light, though the words barely hovered over the floor. "I was… brought back? I can't really explain it. From what Jade told me, I was brought back after you pulled your world saving, Morning Glory Academy ending, life turning around stunt. It was like a… restart button, I guess. Sorry it took so long to get here."

Casey stared at him. Restart button… It didn't make sense. They still all lost things… Lost people. How did he get back? "How?"

"I don't know… It's going to be hard to ask now… You sort of destroyed the place with all the answers," Hunter said. He stepped forward, cautiously. When the girl didn't budge, he tried to smile. "But I know I am."

And that was enough for now. The sound of her phone dropping from her hands didn't even register with her as the girl grabbed the boy in front of her. Casey crashed her lips against Hunter's. It was all she could to make sure he was actually there. Later she would start asking questions again. Later she would find out where he had been these past years. Later she would figure out where they would go now. But in that moment, she only cared about the fact that he was just as greedy in this kiss. Just as needy as they tugged at each other. Just as happy to be alive. To be there. To be now.


End file.
